Priceville | Encyclopedia of Alabama

Priceville is located in central Morgan County, in the north-central part of the state just south of the Tennessee River. It has a mayor/council form of government.

History

Priceville is named after the Price family, who first settled in the area in 1825 after selling a plantation in Lawrence County. The Price family remained prominent in the area for many years, with as many as nine family members serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The Priceville community has long been considered an extension of Decatur, having been located in unincorporated Morgan County for decades, some ten miles southeast of Decatur. The community applied for municipal incorporation in 1975 and is now the third-largest settlement in Morgan County. The community remained a small development between Decatur and Somerville until Interstate 65 was constructed in the late 1950s, after which its proximity to the interstate caused the area's population to grow significantly.

Demographics

According to 2016 Census estimates, Priceville recorded a population of 3,060. Of that number, 94.3 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 3.1 percent as African American, 1.7 percent as Hispanic, 1.6 percent as American Indian, 0.4 percent as Asian, and 0.4 percent as two or more races. The town's median household income was $92,857, and the per capita income was $34,962.

Employment

According to 2016 Census estimates, the workforce in Priceville was divided among the following industrial categories:

Educational services and health care and social assistance (26.3 percent)
Manufacturing (18.9 percent)
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (13.5 percent)
Retail trade (9.2 percent)
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (7.3 percent)
Public administration (5.7 percent)
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (4.4 percent)
Construction (4.2 percent)
Other services, except public administration (4.2 percent)
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (3.7 percent)
Information (1.3 percent)
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (0.7 percent)
Wholesale trade (0.6 percent)

Education

Schools in Priceville are part of the Morgan County School system; the town has one elementary school, one junior high school, and one high school.

Transportation

Interstate Highway 65 passes north to south through Priceville, and State Highway 67 passes northwest to southeast through the town. Pryor Field Regional Airport is located about 10 miles northwest of the town. The Huntsville International Airport and International Intermodal Center is located 16 miles north of town.

Events and Places of Interest

Priceville holds an annual Easter Egg Hunt, a Veterans Memorial Team Bass Tournament, a car show, and a Christmas parade. Veterans Park in Priceville features a gazebo, a pavilion, a community center, and facilities for rent. The Morgan County Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 2012 in Priceville. The Price-Wooten House (ca. 1856) is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. The headquarters for the Racking horse Breeders Association of America is located in Priceville, and the World Racking Horse Championships are held each year in the town's Celebration Arena. The town lies just to the east and south of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, the largest such refuge in the state.

Additional Resources

Morgan County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of Morgan County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1998.

Knox, John. A History of Morgan County, Alabama. Decatur, Ala.: Decatur Printing Company, Inc., 1967.